Keigo Atobe
With his peerless charisma, he is the heir to the Atobe Zaibatsu. With his world class Insight he is able to see through his opponent's weakpoint within a match. Background Keigo Atobe (跡部景吾, Atobe Keigo) is the captain of Hyōtei Gakuen, having defeated all of the members of the team during his first year. Along with Tezuka Kunimitsu of Seigaku, Tachibana Kippei of Fudomine, Sanada Genichirō and Yukimura Seiichi of Rikkaidai, Atobe is a "Zenkoku ku" (全国区), which means a national level player. He defeated Seigaku's captain in his second year, a favor returned when Tezuka then beat Hyōtei's captain at the time. He is the son of a very rich family. He has rivalries with Tezuka, who he defeats in the Kantō Tournament,The Never Ending Tie-Break Sanada, who he comes close to defeating in a practice match before it is called off,The Ultimate Showdown and Ryoma, who defeats Atobe in the nationals.Deathmatch - King vs Prince Hyōtei is one of the few schools in the series without a vice-captain, an indication of both Atobe's skill and leadership. There are several facts that may suggest Atobe is not entirely Japanese. He grew up overseas, attending primary school in Britain along with Kabaji. Aside from his tennis club captaincy, Atobe is also student body president. He enjoys all subjects, especially Greek, and is a fan of the poetry of Goethe and Homer. He also has an appreciation for classical composers such as Richard Wagner. Appearance Atobe's house.jpg|Atobe's lush house in Tokyo. Part of Atobe's home.png|Just a part of Atobe's enormous home. ar1.JPG|Decoration in Atobe's library ar3.JPG|Atobe's library One of Atobe's characteristic is the mole below his right eye, known as a "tear-mole". In the manga Atobe has light brown hair and blue eyes while in the anime he has purple-black hair and onyx eyes (later shown to actually be an extremely dark blue). Due to a bet Atobe made with Ryoma, in which the loser had to shave his own hair, he had his head shaved by Ryoma after losing consciousness (in the anime, Atobe chooses to shave his own hair after losing, taking the razor from Ryoma's hands). However, it is later revealed that Atobe did not get his head fully shaved, but rather just a short haircut. Shortly after, right before the National Finals, Atobe is shown with his normal haircut, which, according to Takeshi Konomi, is just a wig. Personality Atobe is severely narcissistic and arrogant, often using the quote "Be awed at the sight of my prowess!" (Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na ,俺様の美技に酔いな?) used first after knocking out Tezuka's racket with his drive volley. Despite being arrogant he's also charming and is popular between both boys and girls of his school: the girls especially tend to see him as a love interest. The entire Hyotei are his fans and always cheers, "The winner is Hyotei" or if the regulars were playing, they say the same, only not Hyotei but the regulars' names. Atobe could even shut them up by just snapping his fingers and they'd stop automatically like well-trained dogs. In the New Prince of Tennis, it is revealed that Atobe gain his insight after being utterly defeated and mocked by children his age while in England. He never gave up and worked hard to reach the top. He is very wealthy, and he owns various chateaus, mansions, and vehicles, which are often used to benefit his team. Despite his personality, he trains constantly and takes pride in his team. After losing to Ryoma in the nationals, he cuts his hair due to a bet, despite taking great pride in it. Just a small part of Atobe's phone collection.png|A small part of Atobe's mobile phone collection. It is common knowledge within the series that he is fabulously wealthy, showing in some episodes his various chateaus and mansions. One mountain estate is the setting of the Seigaku training arc shown only in the anime, in which Hyōtei helps Seigaku prepare for its Kantō finals match with Rikkaidai. It is likely that the anime exaggerated his wealth, as he was shown to be progressively wealthier as the series goes on, to the extent that by the release of the mini-movie, he owns a huge blimp with a chibi replica of his own face on it, and enough funds to hold a convention in a gigantic, downtown stadium. However, the manga does depict him to own a helicopter. This doesn't mean, however, that Atobe is just a pampered, self-centered diva without real qualities backing him up. He's very proud of being on top of the Hyōtei team, and has earned his position through very hard work and real talent. He also truly appreciates the worth of both his teammates and rivals; this is shown when he stands up for fellow Hyōtei regular Shishido Ryō's plight in front of coach Sakaki, when he recognizes Tezuka's might after their duel (even lifting Tezuka's hand to show him as someone who had fought hard and also deserved praising), and when he speaks to Echizen after his fight with Tezuka in the American arc. Despite having lost to Seigaku twice, Atobe seems to accept his losses gracefully, not too bitter to aid his former opponents by going to search for the missing Ryoma with his own helicopter as Seigaku faces Rikkaidai in the Nationals Finals. Atobe also mentions that while he doesn't mind going easy on an opponent, he hates it when opponents go easy on him. He is rather generous and uses his allowance to buy things for his teammates. Furthermore, the aforementioned mini-movie (named "Atobe kara no Okurimono", translated as "Atobe's Gift") shows that one of the reasons he had to hold the convention was to cheer up his childhood friend and partner Munehiro Kabaji, who was very depressed after the announcement of his beloved older sister's future marriage. He also claimed the date coincided with Kabaji's birthday, which Kabaji revealed to be a lie. snake biting 1.jpg|Atobe getting bit by the snake snake biting 2.jpg|The protagonist sucking out the toxins Atobe_drinking_30x_concentrated_coffe.jpg|Atobe drinking Coffee with 30x concentration Even the games have portrayed Atobe as more noble than one would expect; in the dating sim Gakuensai no Ōjisama, Atobe is enraged when the main character (default name, Shizuka Hirose) is attacked by his most rabid fangirls, and not only lectures the player for NOT telling him about the incidents, but he also protects her from such fans and, if certain in-game circumstances are met, in the end he announces that Shizuka will be his girlfriend in front of the whole school. In another dating sim, Doki Doki Survival - Umibe no Secret, Atobe is shocked when he's bitten by a poisonous snake and the main girl (default name, Tsujimoto Ayaka) attempts to help him by directly sucking out the toxins from his injury, scolding her as well for taking such a risk after they're taken to safety. History Two Years Prior To The Storyline Atobe just arrives from England and starts life as a student of Hyotei Gakuen. On the first day of school, he gives a speech to the school as the freshmen representative. During his speech, he calls out the current boys' tennis club captain and announces that he is the new king/captain of the club and school (Note: he really only declares himself as king, but unknown if it was for both the school and club). In the OVA it is mentioned by several female students that he donated many things to the school, making him popular with the his female classmates. When he enters the club, he effortlessly defeats all the upperclassmen which resulted in the captain of that time to ask (plead) Atobe to be the new captain. As he agrees to the new position, Oshitari appears and seems to challenge the new captain of the tennis club. What happens afterwards is unknown. In the OVA version, Shishido, Mukahi, and Jiro did not know of Atobe playing against the upperclassmen until after he had defeated them. Shishido and Mukahi as a doubles pair also challenge Atobe in the OVA, and end up losing. Oshitari and Atobe's match is also shown with Atobe winning the match.Turbulence, The Young Atobe One Year Prior To The Storyline Atobe along with Hyotei win the Tokyo Prefectural tournament and defeat Seigaku along the way. It is in this tournament that Atobe defeats Seigaku's captain. Atobe and Hyotei cruise through the Regional finals however their Regional success is thwarted by the likes of Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku. Districts During this period Atobe and the Hyotei team are training. Prefecturals The Prefecturals in Prince of Tennis saw a moment where Atobe's Team Hyotei Gakuen was knocked out by Fudomine led by new captain Tachibana Kippei. During the Prefecturals season there was an match where Atobe played doubles with Kabaji Munehiro, although Atobe's full potential and personal stats were yet unknown to the audience. In the Prefecturals they suffered defeat against Fudomine as Atobe sent out non-regulars who were crushed by the Fudomine regulars and then Shishido Ryō who arrogantly played against Tachibana Kippei in Singles 3, not realizing it was Tachibana who was a Shishigaku regular last year that helped them to the Semifinals until it was too late and because of this, he foolishly lost. After in the fifth place consolation match-up, Atobe's team crush St. Rudolph allowing them to qualify into the Regionals. Regionals Atobe ends up drawing Hyotei against Seigaku in the first round himself during the tournament draw. His reaction seemed to be unconcerned with having to face Seigaku even though he was aware the loser will not qualify for the Nationals. He plays in the Singles 1 slot against Tezuka. He was the only one to discover that Tezuka's shoulder wasn't perfect and took advantage of it. He purposely rallied the match in order to destroy Tezula's shoulder. However, he realised and admitted that Tezuka was too passionate about tennis to surrender. After a tie-break that reached the high 30s, Tezuka finally lost by hitting the net, giving Atobe the point. At the net, Atobe raised Tezuka's hand into the air showing that Tezuka is worth praising. Regional Select Invitationals Camp >In this anime-only arc, Atobe along with several Hyotei teammates recieve an invite to the Kanto Region Japan Junior Training Camp. He along with Kabaji and Oshitari were placed into Hanamura's group. Regional Select Invitationals Members of the Kanto Region Junior team.jpg|Atobe on the far right as a member of the Junior Kanto Regional Select. 7.jpg 4.jpg 3.jpg Atobe-Sanada01.jpg Atobe-Sanada2.jpg Atobe is immediately chosen as one of the Kanto Region Japan Junior Representatives after he and Sanada have somewhat of an eventful practice match which gradually got the attention of the rest of the camp. Atobe was surprisingly placed in Doubles 2 partnering up with his rival Sanada Genichirō. They play against the West Coast USA Junior team members Billy Cassidy and Michael Lee pair. He and Sanada at first find it difficult to pair up together perfectly as the two are very different players. However the game unfolds and the play an eventful match while Atobe is pushed as Rondo Towards Destruction is countered by Cassidy. Eventually they win their match 7-5 after revealing their new move Tango Towards Destruction. Atobe and Junior Kanto Region Japan are eventual winners with 3 wins 1 no-game and 1 loss. Nationals Hyotei regulars watching Inui-Kaido VS Mukahi-Hiyoshi.jpg|Atobe and Hyotei during the Nationals Atobe smashing.jpg|Atobe against Echizen. Atobe feinting while standing.jpg|Atobe fainting while standing. Although Hyotei were knocked out in the 1st Round of the Kanto Regional Tournament by Seigaku which prevented them for heading to the Nationals, due to Tokyo being the host city for the tournament, it allowed to give a place in the tournament to their next best team that failed to qualify, which turned out to be Hyotei. This meant Atobe could captain Hyotei to the nationals. Hyotei cruise through to the Quarterfinals crushing last years best four Shishigaku along the way and meet their nemesis Seigaku. As expected, the two sides have a dramatically long encounter a second time and Atobe plays against Echizen Ryoma in Singles 1. After reaching almost 120 in the tie-break, Atobe collapses from exhaustion. Ryoma wins by hitting two more Twist Serve. U-17 Camp Atobe along with his Hyotei teammates recieves an invitaion to the All-Japan Junior Camp.The Night Before the Invitation He and all the other 49 middle schoolers at the entrance are able to attaince a ball that fell from the helicopter where the conditions were, those that cannot attain a ball are told to leave. There he partners with Hiyoshi Wakashi in which it is revealed that Atobe had chosen Hiyoshi Wakashi to be the next Hyotei captain. Believing they would be doubles partners however it turns out they must play each other in a Tie-Break game where the loser is meant to go home. Atobe wins 37-35. Hiyoshi is sent to train in the mountains while Atobe easily advances to the 5th Court by defeating all of his next High School opponents and amongst the first Middle Schoolers to join the court along with Tezuka and Chitose Senri. They are almost instantly however, joined by Tachibana Kippei, Akutsu Jin, Akutagawa Jirō, Kite Eishirō, Ishida Gin, Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Kirihara Akaya and Liliadent Krauser in the 5th Court. Team Shuffle Atobe and Akutsu in 2nd Stringer U-17 Camp uniform white.jpg|Atobe and Akutsu deciding they are interested in a Team Shuffle. U-17 Camp Locker room 2.jpg|The 5th Court members in their locker room before the Team Shuffle. Atobe_Tezuka.jpeg|Atobe and Tezuka in the Fifth Court lockers Atobe during the line-up in the Team Shuffle.jpg|Atobe as the Team Shuffle begins. Atobe rallying in the U-17 Camp.png Black Jersey Brigade guys and Atobe and the U-17 Camp.jpg Atobe13.jpeg Atobe17.jpeg Atobe is selected by Oni Juujiro as one of the 5th Court members to take part in the Team Shuffle against the then 3rd Court. Atobe is in Singles 1 and plays against Irie Kanata. The two engage in a dramatically long encounter. The match begins with Irie just testing Atobe however Atobe jumps out to a shocking 5-0 lead. Atobe then decides to finish it by using World of Ice. However unknown to Atobe and everyone else, Irie was faking it. He was allowing Atobe to get close to winning unitl he fought back so he could create drama. Atobe, angered by this, attempted to finish the game. However, Irie revealed he can also use World of Ice due to him being able to fully understand his opponents. Atobe is pushed as Irie climbs back and overtakes Atobe and puts the 6-5. This is when Atobe pulls out his new advanced level of Insight technique Atobe Kingdom, a technique which see blind spots and goes further by allowing Atobe to view his opponents like an X-ray machine by seeing through their skeleton.Promise Atobe claws his way back and plays evenly with Irie, but Atobe Kingdom requires an enormous amount of focus and stamina and the match reaches 185-185 in tie-break. Atobe collapses from exhaustion and collapses a second time as Irie hits a lob causing Atobe to run into the wall and pass out. Irie then claims his shoulder cant move anymore which is later proven to be a lie by Tanegashima Shūji meaning Irie could have won the match if he wanted to. Leaving the match as a draw, Oni Juujiro plays in the reserve match in the Team Shuffle and easily defeats Takei Toshio 6-0 which gave the 5th Court the win which makes the two courts switch places making Atobe curently a member of the 3rd Court. U-17 Camp Revolution Days after, Atobe makes his way to the main courts along with the rest of the camp awaiting the arrival of the 1st Stringers. Atobe is present at the main court to witness the return of the Top 10 and then shortly after, sees the shock upset that his middle school comrades replaced No.s 11-19 of the 1st Stringers. Later on that day, Atobe informed Kadowaki Satoru in an extremely arrogantly manner that he won't be called to challenge the Top 10. Atobe calls out Niou from outside Niou's room.Golden Age 69 Genius 10 Challenge The next day, as the match begins for No.s 10 & 9 to be challenged, former Rikkai Dai regular No.10 Mōri Juzaburō (High School 1st Year) and former legendary Hyotei captain No.9 Ochi Tsukimitsu (High School 3rd Year) step onto the court. As they and the rest of the camp wonder who their challengers will be, Atobe steps onto the court, surprising all those at the camp since this is a doubles game. Surprising everyone even more, Atobe calls out to Niō Masaharu to partner him against the High School Doubles Specialists.Golden Age 70 For the first time in the series, a 3 set match takes place. Niou immediately takes on the form of Tezuka Kunimitsu through his Illusion. Atobe and Tezuka are at first stunned by Ochi's Mach Serve, however thanks to Atobe's Insight he is able to return it. Niou, in retaliation uses Zero Shiki Serve which stuns the opponents, however Mouri is able to quickly counter it. The match quickly becomes fast paced and tense with the release of Atobe Kingdom and Tezuka Zone proving to be fearful combination. However Ochi's Mach Serve and Mouri's ability to return the Zero Shiki Serve ''' prove to be more than enough to stay level with Atobe and Niou without wasting much energy.Golden Age 71Golden Age 72 Atobe and Niou are able to keep up with their high school opponents and the scoreline reaches 4-4. At this time, Atobe uses Insight to see that the Zero-Shiki Serve can no longer be used. This shocks Niou but he eventually "morphs" into Kabaji after being told they need more power in their play. At 6-5 in their favor however, Ochi's tennis style kicks in and by giving his opponent eye contact, he is able to ruin their mindset. Atobe double faults, giving away a game and taking the first set into a tie-break.Golden Age 73Golden Age 74 As the tie-breaker continues on to favour the 1st stringers 6-0, Niou, in Tezula's form, unleashes Tezuka Phantom, forcing a ball out and scoring the first point in the tie-breaker for the 2nd stringers.Golden Age 75 Eventually, Atobe and Niou win the first set 7-6, however Niou is by then completely exhausted, and the High Schoolers easily pull one set back, winning the second set back 6-0. Golden Age 77Atobe and Niou are eventually able to win the third set 7-6, winning the game. This makes Atobe the 9th All Japan U-17 representative and Niou the 10th, though the latter has to be hospitalized, temporarily leaving the camp. Atobe is seen to the join the first-string's side of the bleachers, where he is welcomed by Oni.Golden Age 82 Tennis Record Official Middle School Tournaments U-17 Camp Results Playing Style and Techniques Atobe is considered the example of a perfect and complete all rounder as stated by Yamabuki's Sengoku showing Atobe's skills as a player. His tennis abilities are centered around his superior insight, which allows him to perceive his opponent's weaknesses and attack them. It is also revealed that his extremely defensive style is one he chose for himself, while his natural playing style is described as "ultra-offensive". Only Echizen Ryoma has managed to make him use his original style. When his statistics are shown along with Irie Kanata's in Chapter 42 of New Prince of Tennis, it is shown that Atobe's statistics show him to be a very balanced, yet powerful, player, with 3 out of 5 in '''Mentality, 3 in Speed, 3.5 in Power, 4 in Technique, and 5 in Stamina. Techniques Insight Supposedly gifted with fantastic eyesight, Atobe uses this in Insight, a technique where he can quickly determine his opponent's weaknesses. He places his fingers between his widely opened eyes and laughs with a somewhat insane tone. During the match against Tezuka, however, Atobe guesses wrongly that Tezuka's elbow is injured. Atobe's Insight is not limited to flaws, at least not in the anime; he sees Ryoma's "limitless potential" during a training session and beholds no imperfections in Sanada during the Junior Senbatsu (Junior Invitational). In his singles 1 match against Seigaku's Ryoma Echizen during the quarter-finals of the Nationals, Atobe uses his insight to his full potential, to the point where he could anticipate the spin of the tennis ball by looking at the way his opponent hits it. He was then able to apply a counterspin on the ball so that it no longer returns to Ryoma when the latter used his own version of the Tezuka Zone. World of Ice (Kōri no Sekai, 氷の世界?) World of Ice.jpg|Atobe placing Echizen in his World of Ice. Atobe putting some random High School fodder in World of Ice.png|Atobe capturing a High Schooler in his World of Ice. All tennis players possess one if not more blind spots from any given position. Atobe has evolved his Insight to such a level to a point where he is able to clearly discern these spots and is able hit balls with pinpoint accuracy and timing at these blind spots. Kōri no Sekai was proved to have one weakness. During the match between Atobe and Ryoma, Ryoma emulated an incomplete version of his father's Samurai Zone through instinct and took control of the game. Atobe's World of Ice was weakened because the spins allowed by Ryoma's emulation of the Samurai Zone caused Atobe's pinpoint returns to veer off course and out of Ryoma's blind spots. Atobe Kingdom While the World of Ice is able to see through an opponent tennis player's blind spots, such blind spots are merely external and it can be covered up by methods such as the Tezuka zone to veer Atobe's shots away from the said blind spots, or a person can use his speed, flexibility, field of vision, and reaction time to erase their blind spots. However, the human body itself have their own dead angles, which is known as the Zettai Shikaku (lit. Absolute Blind Spots), which are located in the joints that humans are unable to comform to because the skeletal structure can only move in certain ways regardless of one's flexibility or speed. Mastering his Insight even further during his Court Shuffle Match against Irie Kanata, Atobe is able to see through his opponent's skeletal structure and, by extension, see the opponent's Zettai Shikaku, and time his shots during the moments when the Zettai Shikaku acts up, able to hit the ball when the opponent is unable to move at all. However, the Atobe Kingdom fails to factor in 1 thing when looking at the opponent's Zettai Shikaku; it does not account for any changes made to the body in an instant. For example, if an opponent was to dislocate their shoulder instantly, then the timing for the shot made by the Atobe Kingdom would be either disrupted or would have to be adjusted instantly, which can be used against the player himself. Muri Juzaburo takes a risk and performs the above example during the 3rd set match of the Atobe/Nio vs. Muri/Tsukimitsu Doubles Match, barely returning Atobe's finishing shot. Rondo Towards Destruction (Hametsu e no rondo ,破滅への輪舞曲?) Rondo Towards Destruction.JPG|Sanada explaining what will happen Rondo Towards Destruction 2.JPG A high level two-part smash in which the first part loosens the opponent's grip on the racket while the follow-up smash is free to score. The first smash hits the opponent's grip on the racquet and knocks the racquet out of the opponent's hand. As the ball bounces up from the force of impact, Atobe smashes it once again at the court to score the point. Atobe is shown to have mastered the technique at the Junior Senbatsu Training Camp the year prior to his match against Tezuka, where he successfully scores a smash past four players using it. Rondo Towards Destruction is nullified by Tezuka, who does not loosen his grip on the first smash and is able to counterattack. The Rondo is also defeated by Billy Cassidy of the American team, who uses his Shotgun Volley to intercept the smash and return it directly. Ryoma was also shown to be able to overcome this smash in the anime with the same method used by Tezuka. Atobe is also shown to have mastered this move since his first year at Hyotei (in a match against Oshitari) or even before that. Tannhauser Serve When performed correctly, the technique does not allow the ball to bounce and makes the ball spin rapidly down the court, thus rendering it almost impossible to return. While no flaw is stated in the manga, in the anime, its flaw lies in that it places tremendous strain on the server's arm and shoulder. Atobe must exert enormous force in order for the move to come out correctly, thus he is slowly worn down during his serve due to the amount of spin and force required to hit this technique. Also, in the anime, the serve was not fully seen until Atobe teams up with Sanada during the Goodwill Games with America against the Cassidy/Lee doubles pair, while in the manga, the Tannhauser Serve was first seen by another Hyōtei player, Oshitari Yūshi, who was able to see Atobe perform the serve during practice. Also in the anime, it is said that the Tannhauser serve is a serve version of Fuji Shūsuke's Tsubame Gaeshi, while in the manga, it is a version of Echizen Ryoma's COOL Drive. Atobe is able to return his own Tannhauser Serve when Ryoma copied it in Muga no Kyochi by using a high-level topspin rising shot using a footwork technique known as the Front Foot Hop. Tannhauser is the subject of a German legend as well as one of Wagner's lesser known operas. According to the anime, Atobe relates as he too is privileged, but has a heart that cannot be satisfied. Fugue Towards Despair (Shitsui he no Fugue) An advanced smash that combines the aspects of both Rondo Towards Destruction and the Tannhauser Serve, Atobe first knocks out the opponent's racket with a normal smash, and then he hits a smash version of his Tannhauser Serve, hitting a smash that functions like Ryoma's COOL Drive: the ball is given an irregular spin where it rolls on the ground instead of bouncing, due to the enormous sidespin that was used. This technique was first seen in the U-17 Court Shuffle Singles 1 Match, where Atobe plays against Irie Kanata, where he first showed this technique. Furthermore, he was shown the capability to fake both smashes as a drop shot, but was able to fake his drop shot feint into a smash, being able to perform 2 feints as well as being able to hit both smashes after rotating 360 degrees. Gigue Towards Lamentation The move is created by Atobe Keigo and is said by Atobe to be another greatly improved version of the Rondo Towards Destruction however it was countered by Irie Kanata before the move could be shown. Jack Knife The Jack Knife is a fast, sharp and powerful high-leveled backhand shot made by using the front foot to jump into the air with balance while utilizing the weight of the body to achieve maximum strength. It is noted that the Jack Knife is a move no ordinary junior high student can do; only professionals are able to use the move successfully. Atobe first uses it in his match against Tezuka. Viking Horn A powerful shot that first seems to go either left or right and then flies at the opposite side due to holding the racket at a reverse grip and throwing off the opponent's timing.. Atobe can only use this technique when he is holding his racket backwards. He learns this shot from watching Kai Yūjirou of Higa Chuu play against Kikumaru Eiji. Higuma Otoshi (羆落とし, trans. "Bear Drop") In his Nationals match against Ryoma, Atobe demonstrates his ability to use Higuma Otoshi, one of Shūsuke Fuji's Triple Counters. By quickly rotating his body, Atobe uses centrifugal force to absorb the force of any overhead smash; he then returns the ball with a lob that almost always lands on the opponent's baseline. In the manga, Atobe's Higuma Otoshi is strong enough to absorb Sanada's "Ka" (which was copied by Ryoma in Muga no Kyōchi, so Ryoma's "Ka" could have been weaker than Sanada's). Synchronization ' This is a Doubles-Only technique in which both players become fully synchronized and move as if they were one; breathing as one and knowing exactly what their partner's next move would be. It is said that doubles players could not go to the top of the pros without 'Synchronization'. Atobe First Used This in ''New Prince of Tennis with Niou Masaharu after he had Used his '''Illusion to become Keigo Atobe as well. Anime Only Tango Towards Destruction (Hametsu e no Tango) In the anime-only match against the American doubles pair Billy Cassidy and Michael Lee, Atobe develops his Rondo to work with his partner, Sanada Genichirō. Instead of completing the two-part smash himself, Atobe feints the second smash and allows Sanada to leap from behind to secure the point. Super Rising In the episode "Atobe the Beautiful", Atobe demonstates his ability to use Super Rising to counter Ryoma's Drive B. The user returns the ball before it bounces to the highest point. As a result, his opponents have less time to react. U-17 Stats The New Prince of Tennis Fanbook Volume 10.5 Speed - 4: He's an All Rounder that is able to correspond to any kind of playstyle. He has the speed to instantly determine what kind of shot is coming at him and return it accordingly. Power - 4: He has a level of power to be able to easily blast away his opponent's racket Stamina - 5: Because of his thorough training, he has plenty of room to enjoy having a long drawn out match. He can become quite the nuisance when he challenges opponents to endurance battles. Mental - 4.5: Regardless of his situation, he will always maintain his unbreakable high and mighty king-like demeanor. Even when he is completely defeated, he has the will to arrogantly face you head on. Technique - 6: Imagining sophisticated techniques one by one, the skills he possesses are higher than just middle schooler level. Kurobe Memo: As a King, Atobe reigns. However, it is wonderful that he is not one to simply rest his laurels and rule from a throne. Due to his prodigious pride, he has developed high ambitions to accelerate his growth to the highest levels. I don't have any other small comments. I just wish for him to continue exceeding with his excellent performance. Personal InformationPairpuri Volume 1 *Foot Size: 26.5 cm *Hobby: Reading, Fly-fishing *Father's Occupation: Corporate Executive (Security Corporation) *Spends Allowance On: Treating out his fellow club members *His motto is: "Adel sitzt im Gemüt, nicht im Geblüt." ("Nobility resides in the mind, not in the blood") *Best Subject: All (especially Greek and German) *Worst Subject: None *Committee: Student Council President *Favorite Place to Visit at School: Atobe’s exclusive personal use sofa, Board Chairman’s office *Favorite Color: Gold, Black *Favorite Food: Roast Beef, Yorkshire pudding *Favorite Movie: European Movies regardless of new or old *Favorite Book: The Plays of Shakespeare *Favorite Music: Classical (Wagner) *Preffered Type: Strong-willed girls *Favourite Date Spot: Cruising at an Island in the South *Thing he wants most right now: A New Tennis Court *Daily Routine: Drinking Champagne (Non-Alcoholic) After taking a bath *Dislikes: Arthropods *Special Non-Tennis Skill: Fencing, Ballroom dancingThe Prince of Tennis Fanbook Volume 40.5 Daily School Life *06:00 - Rises from bed. Breakfast *07:00 - Running on the grounds. Horseback riding *08:00 - Goes to school. Only attends second half of morning practice *09:00 - First Period: Science 3; Biology/Earth Sciences *10:00 - Second Period: Greek *10:50 - Goes to the President's office *11:00 - Third Period: Japanese Language 3; Classical Literature *12:00 - Fourth Period: Sociology 3; Government/Economics *12:50 - Lunch Break. Guest appearance in school wide broadcast by journalism committee member *13:20 - Fifth Period: Physical Education 2; High Jump *14:20 - Sixth Period: Mathematics 2; Geometry *15:20 - Student council meeting. Looks over reports from each club while having afternoon tea with Kabaji *16:00 - Tennis club, oversees basics training *19:00 - Trains at Atobe Gym *20:30 - Returns home. Dinner *21:00 - Light training at the courts at home *22:30 - After showering, listens to Wagner while enjoying non-alcoholic champagne *23:30 - Goes to bed Note from Hiyoshi: Please stop doing the Hyoutei chant during the school wide broadcast. Hearing the Hyoutei chant during lunch is very annoying. Note from Mukahi: He's always eating yummy looking sweets! After lunch, he eats the rumored Gelee Royale (A Royal jelly. A honey bee secretion rich in vitamin B and other nutrients that can't be duplicated in labs). Tennis Bag Content The Prince of Tennis Fanbook Volume 10.5 *'Cell phone' For international calls. People have witnessed Atobe speaking in German over this phone. *'Cell phone' With video phone capabilities in FOMA. (Note: FOMA stand for Freedom of Mobile multimedia access, and it's a service provided by NTT Dokomo, a Japanese communications company). Used mainly to contact family members. *''' Cell phone x 2''' Equipped with camera. He uses these phones for most normal usage, but doesn't use the camera much. *''' PHS''' (Personal Handy Phone) He uses this as a backup for underground use, where it's hard to get a signal.Doesn't use it much. *'Lip balm' Dry lips are the ultimate indignity! Since he couldn't possibly show himself in public with chapped lips, he always carries this around. *'Cologne' Uses one spritz of this as a finishing touch after his post-practice shower. Thus switching to "private mode." *'Foreign book' When he's alone, he's mostly reading. Right now, he particularly likes reading Goethe. *''' A gold compact mirror''' Relationships Tezuka Kunimitsu Atobe and Tezuka have a rival relationship. They both acknowledge each other's tennis but Atobe knows Tezuka still has a lot of room for growth and wishes to reach his level. Sanada Genichiro Atobe and Sanada have a rivalry similar to that of Atobe and Tezuka. Tezuka is their mutual rival that they both wish to defeat in a fair game. Although they admit the other player's skill in front of their teammates, they never praise each other face-to-face. Niou Masaharu Atobe develops a friendship with Niou during their doubles match against No.9 and No.10 of the top 10 All Japanese Representatives. Atobe is quite honest with Niou and helped him walked when Niou could no longer move. Atobe also showed much concern for him when he collasped. When Atobe was playing by himself, and almost lost a ball that hit the net right at end, Niou saved him the trouble of running to be ball by returning the ball himself and reminding Atobe that it was a doubles match. Trivia Character Trivia .]] *Atobe can speak English, since he lived in England in his childhood, and German effortlessly (he's also shown speaking german during a phone call). *Atobe is shown to have at least 4 maids and 1 butler named Michael. *While in the U-17 tennis camp where the other members of the club aren’t present, he had Kabaji bring a recorded version of the Hyotei chant. *Atobe gave Sanada an easy-to-use cellphone that is designed for the elderly, which Sanada actually liked. *Atobe is the first person outside Rikkai to receive the famous “Sanada Calligraphy” saying “bitter enemies in the same boat.” *In one of the Prince of Tennis Video Games, Atobe is shown playing the piano. *Atobe knows all of the 215 tennis club member's names as well as the rest of Hyotei's school population.The Prince of After School Manga Volume 2 *He has 11 courts in Japan and 7 courts overseas named after him. *He has been both the student council president and tennis club captain since his first year. *He, himself, was the one who created and composed the different Hyotei chants. *When he was in England, he lived in an old castle with an overly large garden and an equally humongous lake. *Atobe has his bedroom closest to the lake in their castle because it allowed him to look at the lake whenever he wanted. *When he was young, Atobe, just like any child, had an innocent age and when asked how he became overly confident, Konomi-sensei said it was a secret. *His favorite racket and shoes brand, Head, is said to be appropriate for picky players such a Atobe himself. *He only attends the second half of morning practices. *He also enjoys poetry by Homer. *Atobe enjoys tea time. *Recently, he had replaced his mobile phones with a smartphone, an iPhone and a feature phone. *While at the camp, every night, he has received a phone call from his butler, Michael. *Atobe has a habit of calling ladies neko-chan (ねこちゃん) which means Little Kitty. He said this to Kotoha Kitazono when she offered him a bento.Premonition Before the Storm This was also said in his voice message for one of his character song.Talk Time ~Confession~ *Every official match that Atobe has played, his opponents or the audience are always moved by his determination and persistence to win. *Atobe begins his mornings listening to Wagner. (Comment: Ore-sama's morning begins with Wagner. Power brims throughout my entire body.) Pair Puri Volume 7 *Atobe's dog, Beat is an Afghan Hound, which is also known as the king of dogs. Other Trivia *Atobe scored 1st in the Fourth Character Popularity poll of Prince of Tennis. *Atobe came 3rd in the New Prince of Tennis 1st Character Popularity Poll. *His famous line, “Be awed by my prowess!” actually came from a pro-wrestling match Konomi-sensei watched where one of the wrestlers said, “Look at my prowess!” *Atobe and Echizen have released the most character CDs than any other character in the anime. *Atobe has the most character songs about himself. These include: Insight (a technique of his), October (his birthday is in the month of October), Hametsu e no Rondo (another technique), Charm Point Wa Naki Bokuro (his mole under his right eye), and Oresama no Bigi ni Yoi na (his favourite quote). *Many foreign fans thinks that "ore-sama" is actually a nickname. However if you take "ore" (one of the ways to say "I" in japanese) and "sama" (said at the end of ones name when praising) you actually get a very arrogant and confident way to I. *The Kanji of 部 in Atobe's name is the same as one of the Kanji characters in Junichi Suwabe's name. Words for the Two *Ōtori: If Atobe-buchou is here, everything will be all right. For us, I believe he's a person who inspires unshakable self-confidence. *Oshitari: Atobe hasn't changed at all since first year. Really, I'm glad I transferred to Hyoutei. *Inui: Atobe's father's occupation is a company executive; just from that he has that much wealth...I'm very curious. *Ibu: What's with those two. They're definitely not middle schoolers like us. They have too many openings for tsukkomi... mumble mumble. *Hitouji: That Atobe, his helicopter and his tennis court...he has way too many openings for tsukkomi! Note: Tsukkomi is the straight man in a comedy duo *Irie: Atobe-kun and Sanada-kun both have hidden potential left. I want to draw that out during the training camp. *Oni: That kid with the black hat...I wanted to try training him. Atobe, that stuck up kid, looks like he could do with some training too. *Kai: That guardian even followed him to the U-17 camp! Ai? Player? ...you're telling me he's actually a middle schooler? *Kaidō: I will definitely beat the Atobe who won against Tezuka-buchou! Same goes for Sanada! Fushuuuuu... *Kadowaki: Those two, they throw their weight around. I'm going to shut them up with my super tennis! *Kabaji: Wherever he goes...I will...follow...Atobe-san. Usu! *Kamio: I haven't paid him back yet for street tennis! This time, I'll be the one to beat Atobe *Krauser: In any case, I'm surprised! Are all Japanese people as interesting as those two? *Kenya: Atobe is the buchou-san over at Yuushi's, right? There's talk that he's a lady killer among the housewives in Osaka! *Koharu: Both of them aren't my type, but they're overflowing with manliness, so they're very lo-ve-ly. ♥ *Zaizen: They're really unbelievable. What's with those two? I don't know a thing about their monster-like strength. *Sakaki-kantoku: He kept Hyoutei's tennis club together and guided us to the nationals. Atobe, wherever you go, itteyoshi! *Jirō: You know, Atobe has been my hero since first year! I'm going to continue to depend on him~! ..zzz *Sengoku: There's a side of Atobe-kun who is very hard-working. Sanada-kun needs to laugh more or else he'll grow old! *Taki: Atobe is surprisingly good at looking after people. He's always thinking of all the players on the team. I know. *An: Atobe is that rude guy, right? I heard that he's strong, but he's definitely not stronger than oniichan! *Tanishi:Hahaa--! Whoever the opponent is, I won't lose in a yakiniku contest!! *Chitose: Even though he does not use "muga no kyouchi," he can still achieve that kind of play. Atobe Keigo. He's a frightening guy. *Tezuka: Atobe, and Sanada, those were good matches. Next time we play, I won't lose. *Hiyoshi: Next year, I am going to win Nationals No.1 that Atobe buchou didn't manage. That will be my gekokujou. *Mukahi: That Atobe, he changed his cell phone again right!? Shit, I want the newest model too! *Momoshiro: I was surprised by the helicopter, but that was a big help! Atobe-san is actually a good guy!! *Yanagisawa: Atobe is that guy who likes to be flashy, da~ne. He always stands out, da~ne. I'm envious he gets so much of the spotlight, da~ne. *Ryūzaki-sensei:It's unbelievable that all these incredible players are from the same age group. If only I were a bit younger. *Ryoma: Atobe-san and Sanada-san? The matches, I enjoyed them. But, I did win both of them. *Minami Kentarō: Hyoutei no Atobe...although we're both captains, he completely stands out. I'm so jealous... *Fuji: I wonder if Atobe drinks coffee in the morning? I just acquired quality coffee beans. I'll give him some next *Mizuki: Nfufufu. I heard Atobe-kun also enjoys tea time. I wonder what kind of tea cups he uses? Gallery Prince_of_tennis_ch333_019.jpg|Atobe, after his hair was cut by Ryoma]] Valentine Kiss (Atobe Keigo) -2004-.gif|Valentine's Kiss character song Jet Drive -2006-.jpg|Jet Drive character song Dear prince.jpg|Ikemen Samurai - Dear Prince ED Hametsu e no Rondo Kai.jpg|Hametsu e no Rondo Kai Album Insight.png|Insight character song Mitai na Arukee.png|Mitai na Arukee character song Oresama no Bigi ni Yoina.jpg|Oresama no Bigi ni Yoina character song Riyuu.jpg|Riyuu character song The Ultimate Hard Worker.jpg|The Ultimate Hard Worker album Atobe prof.jpg|Cross with You Age_8.png|Atobe,when he was 8 years old References Category:Characters Category:Tennis Player Category:Hyotei Tennis Club Member Category:Middle Schooler Category:3rd Year Middle School Category:U-17 Camp Category:All-Rounder Category:Right-Handed Category:Middle School Captain Category:Kanto Junior Select Team Category:Capable with Singles and Doubles Category:Kanto Players Category:Tokyo Players Category:1st Stringer